TORONTO — On the last day of what had been the worst August in Toronto Blue Jays history, the standing ovation must have been a welcome sight.

It was for Brandon Morrow, the starting pitcher, as he left the field in the seventh inning of Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He touched the brim of his cap, and left the home team with just enough of what it needed for a 2-1 win at Rogers Centre.

Morrow, who missed two months with a strained oblique, earned his first win since June 6. And he gave the Blue Jays their third win in a row, which, in this bewildering season, counts as momentum heading into the last full month of the schedule.

His efforts were saved with a dramatic throw to end the game with two out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Moises Sierra snared a base hit in right field and, with pinch-runner Elliot Johnson rounding third to try to tie the game, he fired home, where Blue Jays catcher Jeff Mathis blocked the plate to record the out.

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It led to another standing ovation. And it left Johnson bloodied and facing a concussion test after the game: “My head sure didn’t feel the best,” he told reporters.

“I feel alright,” Mathis said. “It doesn’t hurt as bad when you come out a winner, you know?”

Toronto began the day with eight wins in 27 games through August, giving the Blue Jays the worst winning percentage for the month (.296) in their history. There was a five-game losing streak early in the month, a seven-game losing streak later in the month, and more of the same trouble that seems to be tying the entire season together.

“We’ve had a lot of conversation on the injuries, yes,” manager John Farrell said.

Major League Baseball’s website was tracking 14 injured Blue Jays players as of Friday, more than any team in the American League. Some are not going to return this season — slugger Jose Bautista painfully among them, due for season-ending wrist surgery Tuesday — but some are set to return.

Pitcher Jason Frasor (forearm tightness) is expected back as early as this weekend, while catcher J.P. Arencibia (broken hand) could return before Sept. 10. Farrell also said third baseman Brett Lawrie (oblique) has resumed swinging a bat, but that no date has been set for a return to the lineup.

Morrow returned from his prolonged absence last weekend, but did not get very deep into the game. He struck out seven and only allowed two earned runs against Baltimore — but he got bogged down, and threw 88 pitches when he was removed in the fifth inning. (The Blue Jays went on to lose that game, 8-2.)

After relying on his fastball and slider against Baltimore, Farrell said he was hoping the right-hander would recover more of a feel for his curveball and changeup on Friday. He seemed to get what he wanted.

Morrow made it through six innings, for one thing. (“We’ve had one guy walk out for the eighth inning one time in the last 81 games,” Farrell had said, speaking generally of the team’s starters, before the game.)

And he looked pretty good.

Morrow threw 102 pitches before handing ball to Steve Delabar in the seventh. The 28-year-old allowed eight hits, and struck out five. His only major blemish was a solo home run from Desmond Jennings to lead off the third inning.

A pair of solo home runs provided Morrow’s only run support. Sierra led off the home half of the third with a shot to left-centre, and Edwin Encarnacion hit his 35th of the season in the fourth inning.

“When you get your better players back, or guys who have been your marquee guys, and main cogs in your rotation … I think it does have an intangible feel to it,” Farrell said. “Whether it’s an air of confidence that spreads through the clubhouse, or when they walk to the mound, there’s a different feel they project.”